Woodward sets personal best, but falls short in 100-meter freestyle

Eric Spruill
The Edmond Sun

July 05, 2008 12:44 am

— Edmond’s Samantha Woodward set a personal best on Thursday, swimming the 100-meter freestyle in 55.65, but it was not enough to get her into the semifinals at the Olympic Trials held in Omaha, Neb.
The 18-year-old’s previous personal best was 55.80, as she finished 21st in the preliminaries, needing to finish 16th to advance to the semifinals.
Christine Marshall was the last swimmer to qualify for the semifinals, as she clocked a time of 55.43.
Natalie Coughlin, who set a world record on the third day of the trials, by becoming the first woman to swim the 100-meter backstroke in under 59 seconds, set the meet record in the prelims of the 100-meter Free on Thursday, swimming the event in 53.64.
Coughlin smoked the competition, Lacey Nymeyer finished in second place, 0.42 behind Coughlin.
The 41-year-old Dara Torres finished third in the prelims, with a time of 54.47, as she has held her own against some much younger competition.
"She's a fierce competitor. She always has been," said 17-year-old Samantha Woodward, who wasn't yet born when Torres made her Olympic debut in 1984, according to the Associated Press. "She looks great for 41. If I'm still competing and look like that at 41, it will be a miracle."
Woodward will compete in the 50-meter Freestyle today, an event which she expects a time of 24.7 will make the Olympics. To date, Woodward’s best time has been 25.56 in the 50 Free.
The semifinals of the event will be broadcast on NBC at 7 p.m.

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